Bottom Line

JBL's new Google Assistant-powered Link smart speakers are appealing alternatives to Google's own Home line. The Link 10 is comparable with the Google Home in price, with better audio and a portable, rugged build. The Link 300, reviewed here, is closer to the Google Home Max in size, but its $249.95 price tag is a lot more wallet-friendly. You don't get quite the power or stereo audio of the Home Max or the larger Link 500, but you do get a reasonably loud speaker that works over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and provides a very balanced, enjoyable sound.

Design

The Link 300 is a fairly plain-looking speaker, measuring 5.6 by 9.4 by 5.9 inches (HWD), with an all-black fabric-and-rubber design and a wide barrel shape reminiscent of a large clock radio. The sides are covered in black grille cloth, interrupted by a large, circular bass resonator on the back and a small, silver JBL logo on the front.

The top surface is black rubber with membrane buttons for play/pause, volume adjustment, muting the microphone, and Bluetooth pairing. A small, glossy black button in the middle of the top panel bears the Google Assistant logo and manually activates the voice assistant without a wake-up word. A small row of four white LEDs sit hidden on the front edge of the top panel, lighting up when listening to your voice and individually dimming when you adjust the volume. They're matched by a small Wi-Fi light on the bottom front of the speaker.

You won't find any wired connection options. This is strictly a Bluetooth and Wi-Fi speaker, and the only ports to be found are the power connector for the included wall adapter and a micro USB port for maintenance, both hidden in a recessed area on the speaker's wide rubber foot next to a reset button.

Unlike the Link 10, the Link 300 isn't designed to be portable. It has no built-in battery, and needs to be plugged in via power adapter for it to work. It also lacks the Link 10's IPX7 waterproofing and general ruggedness. This isn't surprising, as it's more comparable in size and design to the Google Home Max, which is also stationary.

Google Assistant

Setting the Link 300 up is just like setting up a Google Home (or another Link speaker). Install the Google Home app to your smartphone or tablet and look for the speaker in the device list. The app will walk you through the steps to connect the Link 300 to your Wi-Fi network and then set up Google Assistant to work with your Google account.

Once the Link 300 is set up, it will appear as a Google Cast device on your network. You'll be able to stream music to it just like a Google Home, or any speaker with a Chromecast Audio connected to it. As an alternative, you can also pair it with your phone over Bluetooth and stream music that way.

The Link 300 offers all the same voice assistant features as Google Home. This includes basic information like sports and weather; music playback from Google Play, Pandora, Spotify, or YouTube; and smart home control for compatible lights, thermostats, and other devices. You can't make voice calls through the Link 300 like you can with the Google Home, though, and it doesn't have a speakerphone function for Bluetooth.

Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa share most of the same features, and are similarly useful as voice assistants. Alexa has more robust third-party services, though Google Assistant isn't quite as strict with voice command syntax and handles natural language better. Curiously, while both can incorporate Google calendar services, Google Assistant can't handle G Suite services as well as Alexa can.

Performance

The speaker easily fills a small room at medium-to-high volume levels with its 3.5-inch woofer and 0.8-inch tweeter, offering power comparable with the Alexa-equipped UE Megablast and Sonos One. It isn't as strong as the Google Home Max, which is both more expensive and features stereo audio with two sets of 4.5-inch woofers and 0.5-inch tweeters. Using the Link 300 to drive a party will be pushing it to it limits, though it will fare better than any sub-$200 speaker.

The Link 300 can handle deep bass capably, though it doesn't reach into subwoofer-like ultra low frequencies. The bass synth notes and kick drum hits in our bass test track, The Knife's "Silent Shout," come through clearly and powerfully at maximum volume with no distortion. A noticeable rounding out of the lower frequencies makes the hits sound a bit more poppy and less full of rumble than with larger speakers, and indicates some digital signal processing (DSP) to prevent the sub-bass from pushing the drivers too hard.

The opening of Yes' "Roundabout" sounds full and clear, with the string plucks getting plenty of high frequency clarity and low frequency resonance to really fill the room. When the electric bass kicks in, it gives the track more force without overtaking the drums or guitar, and leaves enough room for the vocals to join in and share the spotlight. The result is a satisfyingly balanced mix that brings out every element of the song without pushing any into the foreground or background.

The Real McKenzies' "Chip" also shows off the Link 300's excellent balance and satisfying power. The bagpipe and guitar stings in the opening of the track come through loudly, without fighting each other for prominence, and the bass drum adds a strong low frequency hit to the mix. The gravely vocals float on top of the mix properly, and even the understated bass guitar riffs can be heard clearly in the dense track.

Conclusions

Just as the JBL Link 10 presents a very strong alternative to the Google Home, the JBL Link 300 is a solid foil to the Google Home Max, or the Amazon Echo Plus. It doesn't have the benefits of portability or ruggedness that the Link 10 offers, but it's significantly less expensive than the Home Max for a reasonable trade-off in power.

We'll add direct comparisons with the Link 500 when we get one into our test lab, but as it stands the Link 300 is a compelling and budget-friendly option to users who want more power than a Google Home, but don't want to shell out $400 for a Google Home Max. If you aren't committed to Google Assistant but still want a smart speaker, the Alexa-powered Sonos One stands as Editors' Choice in this price range. It uses Sonos' own multi-room Wi-Fi system rather than Google Cast, and offers excellent sound and a more stylish design for $50 less than the Link 300.

About the Author

Will Greenwald has been covering consumer technology for a decade, and has served on the editorial staffs of CNET.com, Sound & Vision, and Maximum PC. His work and analysis has been seen in GamePro, Tested.com, Geek.com, and several other publications. He currently covers consumer electronics in the PC Labs as the in-house home entertainment expert, reviewing TVs, media hubs, speakers, headphones, and gaming accessories. Will is also an ISF Level II-certified TV calibrator, which ensures the thoroughness and accuracy of all PCMag TV reviews. See Full Bio